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Some of the things that are left behind in cemeteries have a heart breaking quality. Others are fan fare. And some just lift your spirits because they demonstrate the strength of human faith and willpower.

In the first category was this little toy I saw in an Italian cemetery.

The next photograph belongs to the second category – there are so many pilgrims to so many graves of famous people, this being a good example of devotion.

The third category is amply visible in New Orleans. St. Roche is not only a beautiful place with elevated crypts to prevent damage from flooding; it also has a chapel where many people leave evidence that they were delivered from their afflictions with the help of the Saint. You wonder about the “Thank you, my leg grew back” but rejoice at the many “Thank you’s, I no longer need crutches.”

And then there are the words that linger (this one from Cambridge,MA) echoing my very thoughts since I had a difficult time finding the grave of the “real,” (behaviorist) B.F. Skinner.

And the plain strange.

I like to reassure myself that a sense of humor gets us through the gravest situations. I even laugh at cheesy cemetery jokes.

December 6, 2017

December 8, 2017

1 Comment

joseph mclelland

December 7, 2017

The last one: (not necessarily the only one with striking content) “here’s what you need for the journey and what I take for ours or mine without you” It just happens that I awoke thinking of train stations and their loudspeakers announcing platforms and departures. I always intend to say something about your reports —to call them something— they are more like essays of a particular kind, always rewarding and often a good start of the day.